Connecting flat cables exemplified by flexible printed circuits (FPC) and the like to a circuit board via a connector has been widely performed. This kind of connector is normally mounted on the circuit board and has a housing for receiving the flat cable and contacts which are held in the housing. To connect the flat cable to the connector, it is necessary to push the flat cable grasped by a worker or the like inside the housing of the connector, but a flat cable is flexible, so handling it is difficult. To improve connection workability, a flat cable connection structure gripped by a coupler made of an insulative material at the part near the tip of the flat cable has been proposed.
FIG. 9 is a cross section diagram showing the prior art flat cable connection structure together with the mating connector.
The flat cable connection structure 80 shown in FIG. 9 has a flat cable 81, and a coupler 83 consisting of a first coupler member 84 and a second coupler member 85, and the flat cable 81 gripped by the first coupler member 84 and the second coupler member 85 in a state in which the tip part 81a is projecting from the coupler 83. Meanwhile, the flat cable connector 90 which is the mating connector is equipped with a housing 91 which receives the flat cable 81 and a contact 92 held inside the housing 91. With the flat cable connection structure 80 of FIG. 9, by a worker or the like grasping the coupler 83, for example, the flat cable 81 is held with equal force. Then, by inserting the tip part 81a of the flat cable 81 inside the housing 91, the conductor of the flat cable 81 contacts the contact 92 of the flat cable connector 90. In this way, the flat cable 81 is held via the coupler 83, so the connection workability is improved. Also, as the workability improves, the flat cable 81 is securely connected to the flat cable connector 90 without buckling, and with prevention of a partial engagement. Also, it is also possible to form a lock that engages with the flat cable connector 90, so this prevents falling out after the connection of the flat cable 81.
However, there are cases where it is necessary to connect electric wires other than the flat cable to the circuit board on which the flat cable connector is mounted according to the type or status of the device in which this circuit board is incorporated, and among these, there are many cases where it is necessary to connect commonly used individual electric wires. Here, for example, in JP 2006-12717A, is shown a connector for which both the FPC, which is one type of flat cable, and individual electric wires are connected to the circuit board. This connector consists of a wiring side connector for holding both the plurality of terminals connected to the plurality of individual electric wires and the FPC by using the housing, and a board side connector which has the mating terminals corresponding to the connector terminals on the wiring side, and by engagement of the wiring side connector and the board side connector, the board's electric wires are electrically connected to the terminals of the connector on the wiring side.
However, with the connector indicated in JP 2006-12717A, it is necessary for the board-side connector which is the mating connector to have a concave part for mating formed according to the shape of the terminal of the connector on the wiring side. Also, the structure of the wiring-side connector becomes complex because a plurality of terminals corresponding to the plurality of individual electric wires is held in the housing.